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Can I kick out my tenant? Look inside!!

Investor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ok folks, so heres whats going on here. My parents have a SFR house in Philadelphia.

Tenant on month to month lease (year lease ran out)

management company in place with written notice of discontinuing their services, done on march 26)

Parents would like to sell property

Tenant not cooperating

rejected 5 of 6 showings for this weekend

Tenant is a slob, house is very cluttered with moving boxes still laying about!

So basically what I want to see (and what my parents want to do) is to give the tenant 30 days notice to vacate so they can clean, repaint, and fix some things. Is this allowed, legal, or ok to do in Philly? Does this guy have any rights other than whats stated in the lease?

He promised to clean and cooperate with the selling of the house. Not the case so far. I tried to sell the house last year on a saturday at noon. I basically WOKE HIM UP when I was banging on the door

Real Estate Investor from Silicon Valley, California

replied almost 4 years ago

Hi, I'm not in Philadelphia, and don't know if you have rent control laws, which many times prohibit a 30 day notice to quit without cause. But at a glance, sounds like it would not be a problem. Give him notice right AFTER he pays rent on or near the first of the month! But check with local laws first.

from Longview, Texas

I would think you could terminate the lease with appropriate notice and proper documentation. Thirty is customary but check state/local law.

One other question I would have is if the lease is between the tenant and PM or tenant and your folks. If it's the former, I don't know the legality of terminating a lease you're not party to.

If you have PM in place, why not let them do it? It appears you're gonna have a fight on your hands and you're not clear on the law. This is the time you need to cash in that premium you pay them each month when things are going smooth.

Rental Property Investor from Durham, NC

Hi, I'm not in Philadelphia, and don't know if you have rent control laws, which many times prohibit a 30 day notice to quit without cause. But at a glance, sounds like it would not be a problem. Give him notice right AFTER he pays rent on or near the first of the month! But check with local laws first.

I'm not in Philly either, but that's what I'd do. And be sure to document when and where you notified him that you were giving him 30 days notice. Also, be sure to hand him a letter stating same when you tell him. All that will help if you have to go to court to evict him.

Also, I'm not sure about Philly, but I know some cold-weather states make it difficult to evict tenants during winter months. You should check with someone to see if that applies to Philly.

Involved In Real Estate from Brooklyn, New York

I agree, you should have your management company handle the process for you, observing all the laws and rules. Idk how is it in PA, but here in NYC tenants are heavily protected with law, and termination and eviction is not a quick process

Rental Property Investor from Olympia, WA

replied almost 4 years ago

@Mark Redmann It looks like your management company is still under contract and is obligated to represent you (the State Realtor Board looks dimly on a breech of ethic).

Also, even if the contract is with the mngt co and not not your parents directly, it is made on your behalf and you have a vested interest. If needed you could give a 30 day Notice to ChangeTerms of contract stating your parents are assuming management of their property, payments are made to "x" and the new rate is "$x".

The contract should have verbiage about showing to prospective tenants or purchasers and they could be in material violation of that. Again, if that is not in the contract give them a 30 day notice to change terms and include a steep fine for noncompliance.

from Philly Area, Pennsylvania

You aren't evicting yet. You are simply terminating your lease with a 30 day notice. You said you had 5 or 6 showings. I assume you have a Realtor. I would ask their advice.

Kevin's hit the nail on the head, but it really depends on what your lease states. Overall though if YOUR lease is a month to month you need to notify your tenants that your not renewing your lease usually it's 30 or 60 days notice. Send it certfied mail as well as snail and post it to the door. Take pics of this.

Also your tenat is already breaking your lease, by not permitting you entry in to the unit, even the most generic lease will have a provision covering this.

Lef me know how else I can help, good luck and remember your can't evict the tenant for being a slob, you can evict because he or she is not permitting you access.